Microsoft announced their first Halo title for Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Windows RT. Co-developed by 343 Industries, Halo: Spartan Assault will land on all three platforms coming July.

The time has finally arrived. Microsoft, together with 343 industries has finally announced a Halo title for Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8. The new title, dubbed Spartan Assault, is a 3rd person shooter based on the massive Halo series. Spartan Assault might very well end up being the first title to fully use Microsoft’s (now) integrated Xbox Live gaming service, for cross-platform gameplay.

Halo: Spartan Assault has been designed keeping smartphones and tablets in mind. The gameplay is a twin-stick top-down shooter and should allow both newcomers and fans of the series to feel right at ease while playing the title. The story in the game is set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4.

Here are some of the features of the games:

Original “Halo” gameplay: An action-packed, single-player campaign spanning 25 missions in battles never before experienced in the Halo Universe, all played from a top-down camera view

New and immersive storyline: An original story set between the events of “Halo 3″ and “Halo 4,” experience a new war with the Covenant, the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and the rise of Commander Sarah Palmer, all with best-in-class graphics and audio

Built for simplicity: A unique fusion of touch and console like controls for easy pick-up-and-play gaming, with the added flexibility of keyboard and mouse controls on Windows 8 PCs and tablets

Only on Windows: Available only on Windows 8 PCs and tablets and Windows Phone 8 devices.

Treat yourself to a few screenshots of the (quite) good-looking game:

Microsoft announced that Halo: Spartan Assault will be available in July for a price tag of $6.99. Sadly, you have to purchase the title separately to play on the different platforms as a copy of the game for (say) Windows 8 doesn’t automatically give you access to the game using your Windows Phone 8 handset. This is rather sad, considering the game is identical across all platforms.